voorhees



(No Model.) I a Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. W.'.VOORHEES.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY SWITCH.

( 1 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. W. VOORHEES.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY SWITCH.

No. 890.999. Patented Oct. 9, 1888.

Willi- 55925. 8%.,

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(No Model.\ 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

.G. w. VOORHEES. Y vAU'I'OMATI'G RAILWAY SWITCH.

No. 390,999. Patented Oct. 9, 1888.

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GEORGE WV. VOORHEES, OF SOUTH AMBOY, NEW JERSEY.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,999, dated October9, 1888,

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. VooRIIEEs, a citizen of the United States,residing at South Amboy, county of Middlesex, and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Railway-Switches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object the automatic adjustment of railwayswitches and signals designed to be operated by the approach of anytrain or trains in any direction on any track, and to make a misplacedswitch or a meeting of trains at a crossing or switch a matter ofimpossibility, except through the inexcusable negligence of the engineerin charge of an approaching train in his not paying attention to signalswhich are by the mechanism hereinafter described set for him. Thisdevice is also capable of being operated by hand by attaching a handleor lever on the segmental arm, hereinafter described, the constructionbeing such that even in case switches are left open by accident or withevil intentions the engineer will see the dangersignal, which must alsobe changed with the switch, and by a simple movement throw the switchinto position, allowing his train to pass through, providing, of course,he has the right of way by the rules of the road or from thetrain-dispatchers The arrangement of rods, levers, 850., constitutingthis invention is shown in the accompanying drawings.

Figurelisaplan viewofthesystcm as applied to a single track. Fig. 2 is aside elevation of a portion of the switch-shiftin g mechanism in thedirect-ion indicated by arrow-head A, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevationof another portion in the direction indicated by arrow-head B, Fig. 1.Fig. 4 is a similar view of another portion in the direction indicatedby arrow-head C, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a form of banter for auxiliarymechanism.

In the drawings is shown asystem designed to operate switches foroutgoing and incoming trains running from a double to a single track,and vice versa, with a siding.

Letters represent as follows: X, the inbound track; l/V, the outboundtrack; Y, the main single track; Z, the siding.

The switch, as shown, is set for an incoming train, as indicated byarrow-head, and trains could continue passing through in that directionwithout changing the position of the switch; but if a train were comingin an opposite direction on the main line the switch would have to bethrown over to allow the train to pass on the outbound track. This isaccomplished by the engineer applying a device which I shall presentlydescribe, and which is an auxiliary to the automatic mechanism.

The crank-levers 1 2, Fig. 3, of such shape as to be operated by thewheels of a train, are

fixed close to the rail at one end of the rockshafts 3, which aremounted in suitable bearings. At the other end of said shafts arerockarms 4., connecting with the pull-rods 5,which pass through guides6.

The crank-lever 1 (through its rod 5 and rod 7) connects with thebell-crank lever 10, the rod 11, and, finally, the cross-bar 12, towhich the switch-rails 13 are firmly secured. Cranklever 2 connects,through its rod 5, rod 14, bellcrank lever 15, and rod 16, withcross-bar 17 of the switch-rail 18.

In the mechanism represented by Figs. 2 and 4, which are detail views ofthe switch mechanism at the branch Y and Z,rcspectively, Fig. 1, thecrank-lever 1, through its rod 5 and rod 7, connects with the slide 8 bymeans of a hook on the end of rod 7 engaging with a pin on said slide.The rod 9 is attached to the slide 8, and through it the bell-cranklever 10, the rod 11, and, finally, the cross-bar 12, to which theswitch-relays 13 are permanently secured. Asimilar device may, ifdesired,'be used on each branch of the track, so that a train coming inany direction can operate the switches; but by the ordinary rules ofrailroading a train must run on the out or in track, according to itsdestination, except when spe cial orders are given. The slide 8,however, as will hereinafter appear, is not necessary at the branch X,Fig. 1.

In Fig. 3, which represents the mechanism in the inbound track X, I haveshown the crank-levers 1 and 2 as having been depressed by the wheels ofa train and, through their connections already described, throwing theswitches in position, and at the same time operating or adjusting theother devices at Y and Z by means of their connections with crossbars 12and 17.

Fig. 2 illustrates the position assumed by the other device on the mainline Y. As will be seen, the crank-lever 2 is shown depressed ICC andthe hook-rod 7 disengaged from the pin on the slide 8, thus allowing thecrank-lever l to be depressed by the train in passing without affectingthe switches, and leaving the main lineXYopen for incoming trains. Thisdisengagement is caused by a pin, 19, (on hooked rod 7,) being acted onand raised by a segmental lever or arm, 20, moving on pivot 21, andhaving a cam-slot, 22, in which the pin 19 rests. On the slide 8 beingmoved to the position shown in Fig. 2by its connections with the switchcross bar 12 when the latter is shifted by an incoming train, as alreadydescribed, the arm 20 is moved to the position shown through the rod 23,lever 24, and slotted rod 25. XVhen the crank-lever 1 is depressed bythe contact of the wheels, it carries with it 011 its arm 4 the slottedrod 26, which, by its connection with the aforesaid arm 20, partiallyrotates it and allows the hooked rod to drop again and rest on the pinwithout engaging until the slide is returned to a position with its pinunder the hook by operating the switch from the end X, as shown in Fig.3.

Of course a train coming in the opposite direction must take theoutbound track, so I provide an additional crank-lever, 27, situated atany desirable point between the cranklevers 1 and 2 and the switch, andoperated by a device on the locomotive. (Shown in Fig.5.) Thiscrank-lever 27, on being struck, is depressed, and rotating, itsrock-shaft 28 causes the rock-arm 29 to pull on the rod 30, and, throughbellerank lever 31 and rod 32, the switch cross-bar 12 is moved intoposition for passage of an outbound train in the direction Y W.

To make a complete switch system adapted for any emergency, thisauxiliary mechanism is very important, and should be in place to operateon approaching the switch from any direction.

The siding mechanism Z is shown in Fig. 4 as being in its normalposition when the main switch is open, as shown in Fig. 1. The crank-]evers 1 and 2 are moved precisely as before described, and themechanism has assumed the same position as in Fig. 2, with the exceptionof the hooked rod 7 remaining in engagement with the pin on the slide 8.

In order to side-track a train it is necessary to use the auxiliarylever 27 to operate the switch 18 through its connections,as described.In so doing the rod 33, attached to the switch cross-bar 17, exerts apull on one end of hellcrank lever 34, and consequently pushes thesegmental arm 20 into an upright position by its rod 35, therebyunhooking and disengag ing the rod 7 and rendering the crank-lever linoperative when depressed.

The segmental arm or lever 20 in its movement carries with it the rod25, and also the rods 26 and 36, their motion being taken up by theslots in each. The use of these slotted rods 25 and 26 I have alreadyshown. Rod 36 is for the purpose of operating the lift-lever 37, on

a projection of which a hooked rod, 38, rests. A lever, 39, giveslongitudinal movement to the rod 38 by being operated by another rod,40, connected with the crank-lever 41. This crank-lever 41 is only usedon such occasions as accidental or malicious moving of the segmentallever or arm 20 to the position indieated in Fig. 2, which would pushdown the lift-lever 37 and allow the hooked rod 38 to engage with a pinon the rock-arm 4 of the crank-lever 1. thus connecting the two cranklevers l and 41. So that if the crank-lever 1 is depressed thecrank-lever 41 will be up,and will, when depressed, raise thecrank-lever 1 into position to act upon the switch crossbar 12.

Of course the crank-levers which act upon others on the same track mustbe far enough apart to allow for the length of the train. If they werenot, the switch would be constantly moving back and forth, and when onelever was depressed another would be raised, consequently breaking orbending one or both in case wheels were on both at the same time.Therefore crank-levers 27 and 41 on their respective tracks must besituated at as great a distance as would be practicable.

The work of crank-lever 41 on the automatic mechanism may be done by theauxiliary, and it is shown as being one of the ways by which the desiredresult can be obtained. The long rd-eonnections may be made of ordinaryrods or tubing with threaded ends or couplings, which can be screwed upto take up the wear or adjusting, as desired, the whole mechanism beinginclosed or covered to protect it from theweather in any way.

Fig. illustrates one device which may be used to operate the auxiliary.It consists of a bracket, 42, preferably bolted or secured to the underpart of the locomotive; but it may be at any convenient part of thetrain. This bracket 42 supports the pin 43, on which is pivoted the shoeor bunter 44, which is operated by the rod 45, pivoted at 46, andeonmeeting with the arm 47 on the rock-shaft 48, journaled in cars 49 onthe bracket 42. The rock-shaft 48 is rotated by its rock-arm 50 and thepull-rod 51, which is connected with the air-brake or other mechanism.So that when the engineer desires to shift a switch from his engine heapplies the air, and through the consequent movement of the brakes ther0ek-shaft 48 is partially rotated, throwing down one end of the shoe44,which on coming in contact with the crank-lever 27 depresses it, asshown in dotted lines," and shifts the switches, as hereinbeforedescribed.

Having already described the mechanism, I will endeavor to make itsoperation more clear by following the movements made by a train inshifting the switches.

Suppose a down train on the main track Y is coming in the direction ofthe switches which have been left as in Fig. 1 by an up coming train. Asbefore stated, the erank-levers l and 2 are depressed. The engineertherefore operates the auxiliary crank-lever 27 at Y,which shifts theswitch-rails 13 through the connections 28, 29, 30, 31, and 32 andpasses on the down track W to its destination. On its return on thetrack X, the crank-lever 1, which has been thrown up by its connections11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, and 3 with the moving switch cross-bar 12, isdepressed, shifting the switch-rails 13 again into their place to allowa passage on the main track X Y, but in case it is necessary toside-track a train the crank lever 27 at X is called into use, operatingin this instance on the switch-rails 18 through the connections 28,29,30, 31, and 32. At the same time crank-levers 2 at Y and Z are operatedthrough their connections 16, 15, 14, 6, 5,4, and 3. That at Y is thrownup to provide for a train coming in that direction and that at Z isdepressed. A disengagement of the hooked rod 7 at Z with the slide 8 isalso effected by the connections 33, 34, and 35 and segmental lever 20,so that in passing over these crank-levers 1 and 2 the switches remainas they are and in position for the train to back out again. If,however, a train has passed down on line Y Win the meantimc,theswitch-rails 13 and 18 have been shifted by its wheels bearing on thecrank-levers 1 and 2 at Y, and consequently the correspondingcranklevers 1 and 2 at Z have been acted on by their connectionsaforesaid and crank-lever 2 has risen in position to reverse its switchin backing out from the siding and crank-lever 1 has been disconnectedand depressed. In moving out on the main line X again the wheels depressthe cranklever 2 on the siding Z, shifting the switch-rails 1S, andconsequently raising the corresponding crank-levers 2 atX and Y. Thebacking out on the line X effected, the wheels depress the lever 2 atthat which causes the same lever at Y to go down and that at Z to riseagain, and also disconnects the crank-lever 1 at Z through theconnections 33, 34, and -35, segmental lever 20, and hook-rod 7. sition,completing the return of the train on the track X Y, and are so shown inthe drawings. The train passes over the switches and crank-levers 1 and2 at Y without effecting any further movement of mechanism and goes onto where it started from.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a railway,at thejuuetion of two tracks, the combination, with thetwo switches 13 18 and the bars 12 17, upon which said switches aremounted, of the crank-levers 1 2, adapted to be operated by the movingtrain and connected to bars 12 17 respectively, substantially as and forthe purposes set forth.

2. In a railway, at the junction of two tracks, the combination, withthe two switches 13 18 and the bars 12 17, upon which said switches aremounted, of bell-cranks connected to said cross'bars and adapted toreciprocate the lat- The switches are now in po-' ter in oppositedirections, the crank-levers 1 2, pivoted adjacent to the tracks andadapted to be depressed by the moving train, and said crank-levers beingconnected to said bellcrank for operating the latter, substantially asset forth.

3. In a railway-switch,the combination, with the crank-levers 1 2,pivoted on the track in ad vance of the switch in both directions andadapted to be depressed by the moving train, of a slide having a pinconnected to said levers, a rod connected to said switch for operatingit and having a hook or notch adapted to engage said pin, and thesegmental lever connected with said crank-levers and adapted todisengage said notched rod and pin, substantially as shown anddescribed.

4. The eombination,with abunter carried by the train, the cross-bars 1217, and the switches 13 18, secured to said bars, respectively, of thebell-cranks 10 15 31, located at both ends of said bars and connectedthereto, the levers l 2, arranged to be depressed by the moving trainand connected to bell-cranks 10-15, and the levers 27 adapted to bedepressed by said bunter at will and connected to bell-cranks 31,substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with a bunter on the train, of the auxiliary lever27, adapted to be engaged by said bunter, the switch 18, connected tosaid lever, whereby said switch is operated, the slide 8, the switch 13,connected to said slide, a pin or catch on said slide, the ever 1, a rodconnected to said lever and having a hook adapted to engage said pin,and the segmental lever 20, engaging said rod for disengaging it withsaid pin, and connected to the switch 18, whereby said lever isoperated, substantially as set forth. 6. The eombination,with the switchand the lever 1, of the slide 8, connected thereto, a pin on said slide,a rod, 7, secured to lever 1 and having a hook adapted to engage saidpin, the pin 19 on said rod 7, the lever 20, engaging pin 19, the lever24, and the rods 23 25, connected to both ends of lever 24 and to theslide 8 and lever 20, respectively, substantially as set forth.

7. The eombination,with the switch and the levers 1 41, havingcrank-arms, of the slide 8, connected with the switch by a permanentjoint and with the lever l by a temporary joint, a lever, 20, forbreaking said temporary joint, connected with the switch, the levers 3739, the former being connected with lever 20 and the latter at one endwith lever 41, a hooked rod pivoted to the other end of lever 39 andadapted to engage said crank-arm of lever 1, and a pin or projectiononlever 37 for causing the disengagement of said hooked rod and crank-armof the lever 1, substantially as set forth.

GEORGE W. VOORHEES.

Witnesses:

Amos G. BOLTON, CHAS. S. WoLco'rT.

